Packers are bracing for a costly payroll spike as four important players create new salary cap challenges
Green Bay will handle the escalation of some salaries.
Draft and development is a huge part of what the Green Bay Packers are as a franchise. It doesn’t apply exclusively to first-round picks, though, as later picks have been just as impactful, if not more.
For players drafted on Days 2 and 3, the NFL created a tool to give them proper compensation throughout their rookie deals. It’s the proven performance escalator, raising the Year 4 salary for players who reach three different levels in their first three NFL seasons — playing-time threshold, Pro Bowl selection, or multiple Pro Bowl selections.
Packers have four players earning raises in 2026
The Packers had a strong 2023 draft class, with multiple players selected in later rounds having an immediate impact on the team. Four of them reached the first level of the proven performance escalator and will make more money in 2026: tight end Tucker Kraft, wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, defensive tackle Karl Brooks, and cornerback Carrington Valentine.
TE Tucker Kraft
- Old salary: $1.505 million
- New salary: $3.605 million
WR Dontayvion Wicks
- Old salary: $1.145 million
- New salary: $3.605 million
DT Karl Brooks
- Old salary: $1.145 million
- New salary: $3.605 million
CB Carrington Valentine
- Old salary: $1.145 million
- New salary: $3.605 million
Overall, it’s a significant difference because that amount counts toward the salary cap. For the Packers, the combined salaries of these four players jump from $4.94 million to $14.42 million, an extra hit of almost $10 million in 2026. These numbers are just estimates from Over the Cap for now, since they are based on the final salary cap number.
Tucker Kraft would have certainly received $250,000 extra for reaching the second level by making the Pro Bowl. However, a torn ACL ended his season in Week 9, preventing him from receiving the award and the escalator.
Now, those numbers are not guaranteed. Two years ago, for instance, guard Royce Newman got the escalator, but the Packers offered him a paycut to avoid his release — Newman’s salary dropped from $3.116 million to $1.25 million again, with an added $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. The offensive lineman was cut anyway, but at least the Packers kept him throughout training camp and preseason. The problem with doing that is that the team is somewhat forced to cut the player if he doesn’t accept the paycut.
The good part is that those new numbers are already in the salary cap projections circulating out there, and the Packers are obviously prepared to pay them. But it’s a material difference for the team’s cap outlook in 2026.
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